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Stargazers were treated to a rare astronomical phenomenon when a total lunar eclipse combined with a so-called supermoon Sunday night. It was the first time the events have made a twin appearance since 1982, and they won't again until 2033. When a full moon makes its closest approach to Earth, it appears slightly bigger and brighter than usual and has a reddish hue. On Sunday night, that coincided with a full lunar eclipse in which the moon, Earth, and sun lined up, with Earth's shadow totally obscuring the moon. The event occurred on the US East Coast at 10:11pm EDT and lasted about an hour.

In Los Angeles, a large crowd filled the lawn of Griffith Observatory to watch the celestial show while listening to Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" played by 14-year-old pianist Ray Ushikubo. "You always want to see the eclipse because they're always very different," says astronomer Edwin Krupp, the director of the hilltop landmark. The additional component of the Earth's atmosphere adds "all kinds of twists and turns to the experience," he says. Before the event, the Mormon church took the rare step of reassuring worried members that the eclipse would not bring on the end of the world. Those assurances proved to be correct. Check out the photo gallery for views of the celestial event from around the world.

Earth's shadow obscures the view of a so-called supermoon during a total lunar eclipse in Brussels on Monday. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Earth's shadow obscures the view of a so-called supermoon next to the statue of the angel Moroni atop the Los Angeles California Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The so-called supermoon passes behind the peak of the Washington Monument during a lunar eclipse on Sunday. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)

Earth's shadow obscures the view of a so-called supermoon during a lunar eclipse over the state Capitol in Salt Lake City on Sunday. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

The so-called supermoon appears during a lunar eclipse behind Big Tex on Sunday at the State Fair of Texas. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

A so-called supermoon is seen at the finish of a lunar eclipse behind an Orthodox church in Turets, Belarus. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

A seagull sits on the cross that tops St. Peter's Square's obelisk at the Vatican. (Alessandro Di Meo/ANSA via AP)

I still never got the correct time for it. I kept going outside at different times last night, but no moon in sight until 9:50 p.m. when it was all over. At any rate, I couldn't see a thing. Disappointment, but tempered by the reports that many others couldn't see anything either.

The_Yeti_Knows

Sep 28, 2015 4:25 AM CDT

Sell everything and give your money to Oprah Winfrey infidels, you can live in the bus station restroom until the day of reckoning I reckon